Ward gets life for shooting publican

"A pox on all your houses" was the comment of Frank Ward after he was sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Patrick McCartan for shooting publican Charlie Chawke during an armed robbery three years ago.

Ward (aged 54) of Knockmore Avenue, Tallaght, made his comment after being asked by Judge McCartan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court if he had anything to say following the imposition of the life sentence.

Ward, who was defending himself in the proceedings, had dramatically changed his plea to guilty to all the charges before him on the second day of his trial last month arising out of the robbery and shooting of Adare, Co Limerick, native Mr Chawke at his public house, the Goat’s Inn, Dundrum, on October 6, 2003.

Judge McCartan imposed two life sentences on the charges of intentionally causing serious harm to Mr Chawke and robbery of €48,652 in cash and cheques.

He imposed sentences of 14 years on two further charges of possession of a shotgun with the intention of resisting arrest and one count of possession of a shotgun with the intention to commit robbery, with all sentences to run concurrently.

Judge McCartan described Ward as a "career criminal" and said he was imposing the maximum sentence available to him to ensure that he would not be released until the authorities were satisfied that he "no longer represents the threat to others that he currently does" . He would also then be monitored under license.

Judge McCartan praised what he called the "brave and single minded actions" of the gardaí who pursued and apprehended Ward knowing he was armed.

He described the gardaí and Mr Chawke, who he said made a "valiant but vain attempt" to grab the shotgun from Ward, as the "real heroes who make life possible for all of us".

Detective Sergeant Michael Gibbons told Mr Patrick McCarthy SC (with Mr Fergal Foley BL), prosecuting, that Ward, a married father of three, had six previous convictions, including three armed robberies.

Ward was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment at the Special Criminal Court in 1981 for an armed robbery at Bank of Ireland in Stillorgan during which two gardaí were shot and wounded.

Larry Cummins Senior (aged 54), of Mellows Road, Finglas who was Ward's co-accused, was given a 15-year sentence in July 2006 for his role in the same offences. The court heard that Cummins has spent many years of his life in prison and his 65 previous convictions included an eight-year sentence for robbery.

Ward, who was defending himself, objected to the jurisdiction of the court and claimed that his arrest and detention for questioning were unlawful. These applications were rejected by Judge McCartan.

Ward told Judge McCartan that, after being released from prison in 2002, he let it be known that he was "available for work" and was asked to become involved in the robbery of Mr Chawke.

Mr McCarthy, in opening the case at Ward's trial, told the jury that the men had acted in joint enterprise in the "well planned and organised operation."

Mr Chawke told Mr McCarthy that he was getting into his silver Mercedes outside his premises at 'The Goat Grill' with a bag containing cash and cheques from a number of his premises, when he noticed in the driver's mirror two men running towards him from a red Volkswagen.

He said the man who got out of the driver's side had a shotgun hanging from his shoulder on a strap. This man opened the driver's door of his car with the gun pointing downwards and said "give me the f**king money."

Mr Chawke said that he saw an opportunity and "dived" for the gun but missed and fell to the ground.

He said the man told him "you are a f**king smart ass" before he took aim "from a distance of 12 inches and blew my knee away."

Mr Chawke said he was taken to hospital where his right leg was amputated five days later.

Mr Chawke denied, during cross examination by Ward, that he had "as a businessman" sought to use the situation to take advantage of an "ODC" which he defined as an "ordinary decent criminal".

Garda Nigel Burke told Mr McCarthy that he was in patrol car stopped at traffic lights outside 'The Goat Grill' when he heard a loud bang. He saw a man running away from a person lying on the ground beside a silver car.

He said he ran after the man who got into the driver's seat of a red car and grabbed him in a "bear hug".

Gda Burke said he heard this man, Ward, shout "shoot the c**t" to Cummins in the passenger seat who pointed a gun at him and Gda Burke backed off.

Gda Burke said, before the red car fled the scene, his colleague Gda David Sweeney was able to break the rear window with his baton.

He said they began a pursuit of the car through the Stillorgan area until it entered a cul-de-sac at Stillorgan Heath. Cummins pointed a gun at the patrol car through the broken window but no shots were fired.

Gda Burke said the garda car stopped some distance away as the two men exited the red car. He said they both turned to face the patrol car with shotguns raised.

Ward fired at the patrol car shattering the front windscreen before both men ran down a laneway.

Gda Burke said he and Gda Sweeney chased them down the laneway, meeting a group of screaming school girls running away and a man on a push bike.

Gda Sweeney said he took the bike off the man and continued to chase the two men. He saw them pushing the shotguns through a fence and when he rounded a corner he saw both standing in bushes.

He arrested them with the assistance of Gda Burke and the cyclist and handcuffed them together.

Sergeant Michelle Gettings told Mr McCarthy that she was the driver of the patrol car that pursued the red Volkswagen. She said that she was "in fear of my life" when Ward fired on the patrol car.

She saw a "spark" in front of her face when the pellets hit the windscreen and ducked down.

When asked by Ward if she could be mistaken in her identification of him, and why he had not been asked to take part in an identification parade for this purpose, she told him: "You were caught red handed".